On and Off
by unfoldingbliss
Summary: Their silly ideals of love and friendship mattered little in the grand plan personally designed for them by the Reach. [Related Dark!Wonderbeetle drabbles]
1. Potential Rival

_The infiltrator confronts Garfield about his flirtation with Cassie:_

This shouldn't be bothering him.

This shouldn't be bothering him.

This _should not_ be bothering him.

He growled and clenched the inside of his jean pockets, reliving the events played out before him lat night in the kitchen over and over again.

The Beast Boy, acting as cool and nonchalant as he possibly could, flirting with the Wonder Girl, laughing at his playful flirtation and cheesy jokes. Laughing. _Really_ laughing like his databases had never heard before. What did the Beast Boy have that he never possessed? The Wonder Girl, _this Cassie_ never laughed like that around him. Never smiled as widely, never blushed as red.

The plaguing memories were unbearable and he knew, _he knew_ he shouldn't even be affected by such trivial, pointless courting tactics. _He_ was the superior, _he_ was the dominant and they were to be the submissive. Their silly ideals of love and friendship mattered little in the grand plan personally designed for them by the Reach.

So, in order to cleanse his mind of the memories and thoughts, he sought out the Beast Boy the next day, a forced, friendly smile plastered on his lips as he approached his makeshift bed at their temporary quarters.

"Garfield?" he opened the boy's curtain to see him reading a graphic novel, "You got a minute?"

"Sure, Jaime!" the shapeshifter returned his smile and put his book down, "What's up?"

"Hmmm…well," he moved in closer, concentrating on keeping his smile as firm and genuine as he could, "Last night…I saw you talking to Cassie. You two seemed to be having some fun."

"Oh, haha, yeah!" Garfield chuckled, ruffling his own hair, "…Don't tell anyone else, okay? But I've kind of had a little crush on her since she's been on the team. I mean, she's really pretty and fun and a really good fighter. So she was in the kitchen yesterday and I thought, why not try, you know? And I'm glad I did because she laughed at all my jokes. What do you think, Jaime? Do I have a shot?"

"Hmmm, well," he turned his head, pretending to contemplate the situation, "I don't know, Garfield, I mean, can any girl _really_ like you?"

"Huh?" the boy crooked an eyebrow, lips turned up into a pout, "What do you mean?"

"How should I put this?" he wrapped his hand around the back of his neck, a typical pre-mode antic when they had been unsure, "Cassie's…Cassie's pretty like you said, right? Also strong, confident, older, smart, fun, spirited…"

"Mmhmm, yes," Garfield nodded.

"And you're…well, you're a bit of a dork, green-skinned, always in the shape of a monkey, wild, younger, immature, and…what's the word I'm looking for…"

"What?" the boy's arms hugged the bottom of his feet, the laughter in his eyes dying out.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, "_Scrawny_. You're scrawny. Scrawny and green and dorky and wild. Now, why would Cassie, as beautiful and strong and as intelligent as she is, ever consider going out with someone like you?"

The Beast Boy looked down, his fur retracting and leaving behind smooth green skin, "I…I don't know."

"Which means, if you don't know, then she'll probably _never_ look your way," he frowned, pressing his hand into the Beast Boy's small shoulder, "So why put yourself out there only for it to end in failure? Just keep your feelings to yourself, Gar. They'll pass and I'll bet one day, there will be that perfect girl for you. Who can look past all those quirky little things that make you,_ you_. Trust me on this, okay?"

The Beast Boy nodded mutely, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, "You're right, Jaime. I…I should just leave her alone."

"Good boy," he smiled and patted him on the shoulder before taking his leave, "Don't worry, _hermano_. I _always_ got your back."

As he descended the stairs and left the warehouse to home, he could detect the emotional disturbance riding inside the Beast Boy, picking up on his quiet sobs and sniffles. He smirked, the memories of last night dissipating.

Potential rival number one just went up in smoke and love and all of its silly cliches had failed.


	2. It's an End

_The infiltrator is jealous of the Wondergun kiss:_

Everything was going according to plan. The crew was in high spirits, the key was in his hand, and the ship was on its way. All he had to do was wait for Mongul and a few more members of the team and he could wipe the floor with these foolish slaves.

The two known as the Mal and Karen were kissing and he almost smirked at the touching scene. Love would do little to stop him from pummeling the couple into the walls and floors.

"Wow," he could hear the Arsenal call out from the other side of the room, "How do I get that reward?"

How pompous. The Arsenal had done little but mess up most of the team's operations since his introduction. He deserved no reward for his contributions, least of all something as trivial as a -

"Mmmaw!" the Wonder Girl pecked his cheek and the Arsenal had the _gall_ to smirk about it. Months had passed by since the Wonder Girl and he had been fighting together and she never had displayed such affection towards him.

"It's a start," It's a start? _It's a start!_ What arrogant words for such a screw up.

_No,_ his eyes narrowed, clutching the rock with his armored hand, _it's an end._

"Well looks like the gang's all here!" he brightly exclaimed as he prepared to smack the Impulse over the head.


	3. Pause

_Jaime stops the infiltrator from knocking out Cassie:_

He toppled her over with ease. Pathetic, really. This was the protege of Wonder Woman, one of the strongest warriors on earth? You'd think she would have taught her to not gawk in horror when one her comrades abruptly betrayed her.

Then again, this one always seemed _so_ hopelessly naive and optimistic. Even more so than that little speedster brat. He should do her in like he did the Impulse: slam her head into the cold floor, have her wake up to crushed dreams and shattered ideals. All eventual slaves needed a lesson in reality, anyway.

Just as he was about to fly his elbow into the back of her skull, an intense shiver ran up his spine, hindering him from any further movement. He growled, looking back to the scarab.

_Not her. Do not harm her, _a voice echoed and a flash of the blonde, smiling and laughing blurred his vision.

Just like the Tye Longshadow, then. Despite her shortcomings, she was one they had once felt strongly for. Hitched breath, weak knees, nervous laughs…the works. It would take time, like the Tye, to harm and submit this Cassie to their will.

With a quick flick of his armor, he stapled her wrists to the ground, briefly watching her struggling form before he placed the key into his armor and set out to finish off the rest of their little "team."


	4. Confront

_Cassie confronting Jaime on-mode:_

"Blue, you don't have to do this!" Cassie yelled from her prison cell as her former teammate made his hourly round. She would have banged on the thin electromagnetic field separating them, but hey, it was _electromagnetic_. And she wasn't stupid.

At least she didn't think she was.

The infiltrator stopped in front of her cell, his eyes slowly turning in her direction, "_Oh_?"

Well, this was a surprise. Truth be told, she hadn't expected a response. Everyone else had tried to get through to him at one point or another and more or less been met with silence. Even Bart and Conner, two of the people he was closest to on the team, were unable to garner a word.

But when push came to shove, Cassie was known to get stuff done.

"Y-yeah!" she stammered out, his stare taking her back to memories of a deep, dark laugh and _bang, bang, bang_ on top of a wall. She suppressed a threatening whimper in the back of her throat and continued on, "L-look, I know you're in there somewhere! What happened to the kind, wonderful Blue I met before? The one who could be a dork but still knew how to have fun? The one who would never abandon his friends? You're in there, I _know_ it. I can feel it. You're going to come back. You have to."

His head turned, burning holes into her form. Slowly, a smirk broadened across his face and he busted into a chilling laughter, all too familiar and all too close. Cassie took a step away from the field, hugging her arms close to her body as the painful memories looped over and over.

_Not again. Please, not again._

"Pretty words, wonder brat," he said, focusing his attention back on the hallway, "But that precious little blue of yours is _never_ coming back. I'm new, improved, and here to stay. And there is nothing you or your little team can do about it."

He walked away and no else bothered reaching out to him. To everyone else, he was lost. _They_ had lost.

"Don't leave, Jaime," she whispered, knees crashing into the floor, tears brimming her eyes, "Don't leave us."


	5. Second-Rate

_In which Blue Beetle berates an imprisoned Garfield:_

"Beast Boy," his eyes tightened at the sound of Cassie's voice and he turned over into a stream of dull, purple light. Her face was close but blurry, her blonde hair tickling his cheeks, "Garfield, wake up!"

He moaned as he sat up, his ears still ringing from the sonic blast Blue Beetle had - _that's right_, "Where are we, Cassie? The last thing I remember was Blue hitting Impulse over the head and then - "

"That's not Blue," Cassie was quick to defend, fiercely shaking her head, "Impulse said...before they put us in these cells, that the Reach found a way to put him on-mode. He's a Reach Infiltrator now or something like it. But I know that wasn't Jaime that did that. He wouldn't hurt us like that."

"Did he..." Gar's eyes widened and he caught the deep, red marks at the tops of her wrists, "...did he hurt you?"

Cassie bit her lip and rubbed at the marks, "He didn't do much to me...just stapled me underneath Mongul...Conner got the brunt of his wrath. He's still knocked out."

Beast Boy frowned and took a look around their cell. It was three purple walls with a hole he could only imagine was for waste in one corner. One side of the room seemed to be completely open and leading out to the hallway, but a closer look directed his eyes towards the blue sparks sprouting from both sides.

_Electromagnetic field..._Gar sighed, _Perfect._

"Hey, don't get too down on yourself, Gar," Cassie encouraged, taking his furry hands into hers, "Boss and the others will find us somehow. Everything is going to turn out just fine. We just need to find a way to contact the others."

Her smile, still ever genuine if not a little worn-down, elated Gar, fresh goosebumps traveling across his arms and legs. If Cassie was here to help him through this, maybe things wouldn't get to be so bad.

"Aww, how touching," a snarl from behind the electromagnetic field quipped, "Seems like beauty can love the beast."

Both whipped around to see Blue Beetle, orange eyes burning holes into their forms and armored lips widened into a crazed smirk.

"What do you want?" Gar growled, baring his fangs at the intruder. If what Cassie said was true, if _something_ had come to possess Jaime's body, he had no qualms in fighting back and finding a way to save his friend.

"Oh you know," his stare redirected to Cassie, his leer anything but welcoming or gentle, "Just checking in on my favorite pets."

"We're not pets!" Gar exclaimed, releasing himself from Cassie's hold and leaping towards him, "And don't think for a second that just because there's a shield between me and you that we won't find a way to escape and fight you!"

Blue Beetle chuckled, crossing his arms while shrugging, "It doesn't matter to me if you find a way to escape. I'll just round you all up again eventually like the sheep you are. And besides, there's no way I'd let little Mary over there out of this ship."

"Stop saying stuff like that!" Gar yelled, "Wonder Girl isn't here so you can - "

"Play with her?" he asked, bending down to Gar's eye-level, "To hold her? Kiss her? Whisper sweet nothings into her ear? Is that your job, mutt? While you're stuck in this little cell - you're going to sweep her off her feet? Bad news, beastly: she doesn't like you. If anything, she's picked a bastard over your quirky charm and scrawny ass. Just ask her. Hey Cassie, don't you - "

"Stop talking!" Cassie screamed, standing in front of Garfield and facing Blue Beetle head-on, "Who I like and don't is none of your concern. You have no right to talk to him like that! If you have nothing better to say, _leave._"

The Blue Beetle snickered, drinking in Cassie's body once more, "I forgot how much I like that fire. You make it look _so_ good."

He took a step back from the force field and gave a curt nod before walking away, "I was only reminding him of his place. When it comes to you, he'll always be second-rate."

When he was finally far from earshot, Cassie turned around and sat next to Garfield, grabbing onto his hands again, "He didn't mean any of that stuff, Garfield. You know that. Jaime would never say those things."

It took him a while to respond, unable to look Cassie in the eye. The words _mutt_ and _second-rate_ kept coming in and out and it took everything within him to suppress the oncoming tears, "Yeah, you're right, Cassie."

_And so is he._


	6. Come Back to Us

"I'm going to talk to him," Tye said as he retracted from his astral form, staring at the blue ball of plasma light hundreds feet above him, "Without my powers."

"Are you kidding?" Bart seethed, arms stretched out towards him, hoping to catch him before he could evade them further, "This is not up for discussion. Do you know what happens in my future? If you die, there's _no_ way he's coming back. You and his family are the only people that can bring him back and if he even loses one of you, he'll further distance himself from humans."

"Then who?" Tye growled, his posture hinting he was considering shoving Impulse into the nearby wall, "You just contradicted yourself. I'm the only one here that can bring him back, but you don't want me confronting him in fear that I'll die? My friend is stuck in that stupid Reach shell and you expect me to just watch him become that?"

"I didn't say that," Bart rebutted, "You need to go out there, but it has to be with your powers. If you go out there unarmed in any way, it gives the Reach a very easy way to dispose of you and make it seem like an accident. Or worse, that it was done by one of us. It may seem like you're being hostile, but it's the safest route to go."

"But I can't go out there like that," Tye sighed, rubbing his temples out over his orange headband, "We promised each other...that we wouldn't hurt one another. A long time ago. And I've already broken that promise a few days ago. I can't do it again."

Bart sighed along with Tye, leaning against the wall, "Then that's it then. We're stuck. Now - "

"I'll go," the two boys whipped around, seemingly forgetting that Wonder Girl had been there for the entire lot of time. She had escaped with them during the team breakout and they'd been on the run from waves of red beetles ever since, "I'll talk to him."

"Wonder Girl..." Bart trailed and despite himself, broke into a sad smile, "That's nice and all, but what can you do? You're not exceptionally close with him, at least from what I've seen."

"That's true," she replied, pulling a few stray blonde hairs behind her ear, "We haven't talked a lot since you've arrived, but..._I_ recruited him. And we had a lot of fun before we found out about this Invasion. I still consider him my friend. And I know he does too. I got him on the team once; I know I can do it again."

The two remained silent for a few moments, contemplating her words and the situation. Before Bart could retort however, Tye put a hand up and nodded his head, "Okay."

"Okay?" Bart gaped, ready to rip his hair out of his head, "This isn't a very crash plan, you two!"

"Look, if she says they were friends and she recruited him on the team, then I have no problem with her trying," Tye explained, "And besides, we'll be on the outskirts of the perimeter so if he gives her any trouble we'll get her out of there. Since I can't go out there with my powers and Jaime probably has some major trust issues with you as you said, then she's our only viable option."

Impulse's eyes flickered with frustration and with another aggravated sigh, he too nodded his head and turned to Cassie, "Fine. It's your call, Wonder Girl. But if we sense him giving you any trouble, I'll swoop in and grab you. I might not be strong, but I should be able to carry you away for a mile or so."

Cassie smiled back to Impulse, resisting the urge to hug him right, "Thank you, both of you. I won't let you down, I promise."

"Alright, get out there. Stay calm and no sudden movements," Impulse advised, directing out of the alleyway, "We'll be right behind you."

Cassie nodded, putting one foot in front of the other as she exited the alleyway and felt the full force of Blue Beetle's plasma waves. The wind around him was fierce, making it difficult for Cassie to take even, steady breaths. Above her, the blue plasma ball stood afloat, swirling around Blue with great intensity. His form was hardly visible, just a blur of black and blue armor against hot neon lights. The only thing she could really make out were his eyes, swarmed by the same light enveloping him. He was lost, out of control, and not even the Reach could get to him now.

So why did Cassie think she even had a chance?

_C'mon, Wonder Girl, keep it together,_ she steadied her resolve, biting at her lip and continuing forward. Jaime was still in there, somewhere. His friend had said so, and so had Impulse. And like she had said seconds before, she was with Jaime the day he came a part of their team, their family. They had bonded over the strange events that occurred that day and she would bet anything that it held a small place in his heart. That she, because of that day, was held in the tiniest of regard and could bring him back to where he belonged.

Soon, she was twenty feet away from the burning globe above her, heart throbbing against her chest, pounding into her ears and deafening the rush of wind screaming into her hair and skin. This was it. Time to show up or shut up.

"Jaime!" Cassie yelled as hard and loud as she could, her throat scratching at the ferocity of her tone, "Jaime, can you hear me?"

"Our name is not Jaime," the Blue Beetle said from above her, his voice echoing, "We are far superior to that who you believe us to be. We are of the Reach and we'll conquer this world."

"Don't you remember, Jaime?" Cassie ignored the Beetle's words, digging deep within her to not be jaded with her daunting task, "The last thing you wanted to be was part of the Reach! They hurt your best friend! They captured Impulse and Beast Boy, they captured and hurt you! Don't you remember any of that?"

"We remember, but we understand the Reach's ways now," he replied, "The meat inside had to be contained in order to further the goals of conquest and the Impulse, the Beast Boy, and the Tye had to be experimented on to further our research of the metagene. In the end, it is to help the human race understand their need for subservience. That the life of servitude is one of ultimate satisfaction and will allow them to be the best they can be."

"Hurting others - people who did absolutely nothing wrong is never right!" she exclaimed, tears starting to well up in the corner of her eyes. How could she get through to him? What could she say to get him back? Time was slipping away and Bart would be swooping in to drag her away from their last chance, "Do you think I...do you think I deserved it when Black Beetle hit him against a wall? Over and over again? Do you think that was necessary? For him to belittle, _humiliate_ me like that? He almost broke my spine! I could have _died_!"

Now the tears were spilling out onto her cheeks, her fists digging into her hips. The memories of that battle - the slams and the bams and the deep, blood-curling laugh came all too suddenly and she tore her sight away from the bright plasma ball. It still hurt, even months after.

"He...did that to you?" The Blue Beetle's voice faltered, Jaime's distinct quaver laced alongside its echo. The words jolted Cassie out of the harsh thoughts and her eyes widened as she caught the plasma waves waning.

"Yes," she choked out, "Yes, he did. And he's hurt you too! Don't you see, Jaime? They're using you like they're trying to use us! You've lost who you are - who you were meant to be."

"Who I'm...supposed to be?" Jaime's voice began to overpower the deep monotone, the wind around her weakening by the moment, "No...we're of the Reach. That's where we belong."

"No, you belong with us!" she yelled, her throat itching and begging her to stop, "With your friend Tye and with Impulse and with Lagoon Boy and Robin and Bumblebee! And...and with me. You belong with me! You're my friend. We had one of the coolest days our lives together! I was there when you joined the team. Remember that Jaime! Remember your team. Please, Jaime! I - _We love you_!"

"The team," the plasma ball waned and slowed and Blue Beetle lowered to the concrete below, "My friends...Wonder Girl...you,_ Cassie_...we loved you all."

Cassie rushed up to him, holding her arms out as the armor retracted and Jaime's face with his real, soft expression revealed itself. When he was close enough, she latched onto him, holding him close to her chest, another onslaught of tears pouring over her face as he spoke once more, "And I still do...love you...all."

Her breath hitched at his words, watching as his eyes closed and he collapsed into her, his sudden weight tilting her slightly. He said he.._he said he..._

"Wonder Girl!" Bart's shout had her twirling around towards the two approaching boys, "I can't believe you did it! That was so crash - you're everything your name stands for and more. I could kiss you! - But no, I'll leave that to Blue, he's going to need one after this, I mean - just wow - "

"Impulse, dude," Tye rolled his eyes as he took Jaime from Cassie's arms, his hands shaking a little, "Keep it together, man."

"Trying, trying," he said, eyes shining, "I'm just...really happy right now. Thank you, Wonder Girl. Really."

And although she didn't want Tye to take Jaime away from her, she knew it was right for him to carry him back home, to where he belonged, "You're welcome. Just doing my job."

She really was, after all. Blue Beetle had been her recruit; he was her responsibility. And she would always make sure he found his way back.


	7. The Wake Up

_Cassie is there when Jaime wakes up for the first time off-mode_:

A/N: Slight AU from the previous chapter, but still related, so...

She was huddled over him alongside Bart, watching him breathe in and out, in and out on Tye's lap. It was still unbelievable how Jaime's best friend was able to crash his mode, begging him to come back, saying there was no greater purpose for him than to be Jaime's confidante and _hermano_. His words had stirred something in Jaime that the mode couldn't evade or capture and within a blink of an eye, Blue Beetle was back to being a champion for the Earth, fighting and escaping the Reach with the rest of the team.

"You think he'll wake up soon?" Cassie asked Tye, her voice a bit more anxious than before. Would Jaime remember anything from the last few months? Would Jaime remember anything after the Scarab attached to him? Would Jaime remember anything at all? Bart told her crashing the mode was a _very_ fluid science and there was no real way to know what kind of effects it could have on the host body. Jaime exhausted all of his energy in their battle to escape the Reach and practically collapsed into Tye's arms the moment they boarded the Bio-ship.

"I don't know," Tye sighed, looking down at his friend with concern, "He's usually not this heavy of a sleeper. He'll wake up at the littlest of noises and everyone in here keeps going on and on about an intervention."

"Crashing the mode will do that to you," Bart added, leaning his back against the wall and sliding down beside Tye, "It could take days hours, _days_ before he wakes up or is back to fully-functional, cranial capacity."

Cassie frowned and continued to stare at Jaime's sleeping form. He looked peaceful, normal now. It was quite refreshing to witness after a week or two of orange eyes and a black-and-blue face laughing and growling at them like they were playthings. Despite herself, she carefully crept her hand closer and stroked his cheek, his skin warm and soft.

At her touch, Jaime moaned and she pulled her hand back, "Oh shoot! I'm sorry, Jaime! I didn't mean to wake you!"

Bart chuckled and shrugged, "Relax, Cassie. It'll take a little more than a finger to take someone out of - "

"…Tye?" Jaime's voice weakly called out, his eyes opening directly below his friend, "Is that you?"

"Jaime!" Tye exclaimed, the boy bursting into one of the most radiant smiles Cassie had ever seen, "How are you?"

"Mmmm…" Jaime hummed, wincing a little, "I hurt…_everywhere_. And I don't remember very much. Where are we?"

Cassie's breath hitched. He didn't remember…but what couldn't he remember? The battle? The team?

_Her?_

"On your…uh…Bio-ship?" Tye scratched the back of his head, chuckling, "You remember this guy, right? He said he helped you out when I was away."

Tye pointed over to Bart and Jaime inched his head forward. The speedster waved enthusiastically, his face plastered into a cheesy grin, "Hey buddy? Remember your _ese,_ the Impulse?"

Jaime coughed out a laugh of his own, "Yeah, of course."

As he was about to lay his head back down, his head turned to the side and he beamed at the form in front of him, "Cassie?"

At the sound of her name from his mouth, Wonder Girl burst into a fit of giggles and tears, "Oh, good! I was so worried you that stupid mode was going to make you forget about me!"

Jaime shook his head, raising his hand up to settle on her bent knee, "No, Cassie. Don't worry, I could never forget you. It would take a lot more than a some little mode to take these memories away."

Cassie wiped the tears from her eyes and took his hand into hers, "That makes me really,_ really_ happy, Jaime."

He hummed, eyes closing once again, "I'm glad…it does."

And just like that, his deep slumber continued. But now, she knew he was safe and back where he belonged.


	8. The Confession

_In the hospital, Jaime confesses to and kisses Cassie_:

"So, who else is here?" Jaime asked Tye from his hospital bed, sipping on the rich tomato soup the nurse brought in a few minutes prior, "Or are they all at the headquarters?"

"My friends are still here," Tye replied, looking back at the door, "They said they wouldn't leave me here by myself and that Lex could wait on the debriefing. That one guy, Night-whatever is here. He told everyone else to go back to your guys' warehouse, but Bart and Cassie pleaded with him to stay and stand guard. But no one is allowed to see you unless you ask for them, which is why I'm the only one in here."

Jaime smiled at his friend, "Yeah, I haven't talked to you…_really_ talked to you in awhile. It's really nice."

His friend chuckled and he seemed to force a few tears back, "Yeah, long time since it's just been you and me. Maybe when this is all done, we can go back out to the mountains and explore like we wanted to. Should be fun with our combined powers."

"Haha, _yo se_," Jaime grinned, taking another mouthful of soup in the process, "I'm just not looking forward to what Nightwing wants to ask me."

"Oh, yeah…before that happens, you want to talk to anyone else?" Tye asked, "I feel like that might take awhile and you should be relaxed as possible for this…_intervention._"

"Tell Bart no offense, but I need to speak to Cassie," Jaime replied, "There's been something I've been meaning to tell her."

"You mean like the fact that you've had a crush on her since December?" Tye smirked.

Jaime almost knocked his soup over, "What? How do you know about that?"

"Pssh, Jaime, you told me she was blonde and she was from out of town," Tye stood up and made his way towards the door, "C'mon, give me a little credit here. I_ did_ just save the entire world from the bringer of the future apocalypse."

"Don't let it get to your head," Jaime sulked.

"It's already my new pick-up line," Tye countered as he opened the door, "I'll send her in. Good luck, bro."

"Thanks," Jaime waved, watching Tye leave the room. When the door clicked shut, he sighed and leaned into the pillows behind him. Okay, so maybe this wasn't the most opportune time to tell Cassie he liked her. Not only had he just been saved from Reach possession, but he had seen Cassie plant a kiss on Arsenal not too long ago. There was a pretty good chance he would be turned down right now, but for him, there was little choice in this matter. He had kept too much buried, tried to fix too many of his problems by himself. It was one of the reasons the Reach got to him in the first place. If he could be more honest with his feelings…then maybe he could learn to be a better hero in the process.

"Jaime?" his head snapped up and he saw Cassie across the room, slowly closing the door behind her, "You wanted to see me?"

"Oh, yes, Cassie!" Jaime's voice suddenly held an edge of anxiety and he tried his best to cough it out, "Come in! Take a seat! Are you hungry? The nurse left a load of food."

"No, no, I'm good," she declined, sitting down in the chair Tye had occupied, "Nightwing bought us more than enough from the cafeteria."

"Oh, okay," Jaime pulled off what he hoped was a pleasant (rather than a nervous and _oh-god-I-cannot-believe-I'm-about-to-do-this_) smile, "Well, you're probably wondering why I asked you in here…"

"Kind of," Cassie nodded her head, "When Tye said you wanted to see me over Bart, I was little surprised. You two have become good friends since he came over from the future and well, we haven't talked a lot since we saved Tye and the other kids from the Reach…"

"Yeah, there's kind of a reason for that," Jaime started to explain, "I..Bart told me about what happens in the future. You probably know about it by now. So, when he told me I was the bringer of the apocalypse, I just…shut out a lot of the people that were close to me. I didn't really talk to my parents, my sister…really didn't much attention to Robin or La'gaan, and you…well, you were a special case. I just stopped talking to you."

"But why, Jaime?" the pain was evident in her voice and her hand reached out towards his bed, "We had been getting along so well…how come I was different?"

"Because - I - " his voice burnt hotly and he winced at the chills spurting from his back, "I liked you, Cassie! And I still do like you."

The room fell silent and Cassie stared dumbly into Jaime's eyes. The former infiltrator gulped and he pulled away from her as much as the bed would let him.

"Please say something," Jaime forced out.

"I'm…" Cassie trailed, directing her attention to her lap, "You like me, Jaime? Like…_like like_?"

"Yes," he nodded weakly, "I do."

She returned her attention to him, a little lop-sided smile gracing her face, "Well…that makes things easy. I like you, too."

His heart pounded violently at her words, "You do? But what about -"

"Don't even say it," she wagged a finger at him, "That was a friendly kiss. And you've seen me give pecks to Gar and Robin too! I learned that from Zatanna. Just a quick 'shut up, you did great' kiss always keeps those boys in-line."

Jaime frowned, "But you never gave me one of those before."

Cassie's smile evolved into a flirtatious smirk and she stood up to sit on top of his hospital bed. Flipping her hair, she wrapped her arms around his neck and winked before whispering, "That's because _you're_ a special case too and I wanted to wait to give you _this._"

Soft pink lips pushed into his and Jaime shivered. It was exhilarating, intoxicating, his mind a fuzzy daze that he never wanted to escape. He kissed back, grabbing onto her waist and pulling her closer. Cassie smiled at his reaction and deepened the kiss, sucking a little on his bottom lip, burning up Jaime's skin all the more.

"Hey, Cassie, I think - whoa!" the sound of Nightwing's voice pulled the two teens away from one another and they whipped around, taking a look at their bewildered leader across the room, "…um, Cassie? We were - I was - Captain Atom and Aquaman are here. We're going to talk to Jaime now."

Cassie mutely nodded and stood up, Jaime immediately missing her close proximity, "Alright…I'll see you later, Jaime. We'll…catch up on _that_ later."

Despite being caught, Jaime's face lit up into a goofy grin, "O-okay. See ya, _bonita_."

Cassie giggled and ran out of the room, not even bothering to give Nightwing a second look.

"Well, I'll just get the Cap and Aquaman here, asap," Nightwing said, scratching at his head, "You just…hang in there, alright?"

"Whatever you say, boss," Jaime replied, collapsing on his bed as Nightwing shut the door. Regardless of the oncoming intervention, Jaime couldn't help but let his heart swell as the kiss replayed over and over in his head.

Talking about your feelings was totally worth it.


	9. The Ask Out -END-

_Cassie injures her leg after the Invasion and Jaime asks her out_:

Ugh, this is the worst!" Cassie grunted, falling into the couch and wincing at the pain that shot up her calf, "Injured, mom out in some Chinese ruins, half the team on some super cool mission, and I'm stuck here watching sitcom reruns."

Cassie slouched further into the couch, sulking with arms crossed. If she had just stuck to the plan none of this would have happened. She'd be able to punch out the bad guys or go shopping with Babs in Gotham City or even just take a little run outside of their headquarters. But no. Nightwing had effectively 'grounded' her for the next one to two weeks and until her mother returned, she was stuck at the warehouse (which they still were operating despite promises from the League to find them a new home) without any friends to console her.

Deciding it best to at least find a decent show to entertain herself, Cassie picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, finding everything from basketball to cartoons to over-the-top action flicks and cheesy romcoms. Her fingers stopped on a jewelry network selling gorgeous ruby and sapphire rings. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

Thirty minutes went by before Cassie heard a pair of footsteps down the hall. She tensed, just a little. While she was never around for them, it was no secret that the the Team had problems with infiltrations on their locations. Still, she'd be surprised if anyone wanted to take_ this_ place as their own.

"Hello?" Cassie called out from her cushioned seat, "Who is it?"

The footsteps paused before continuing onward and towards her. A few seconds later and entered Jaime Reyes, wearing a red long-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, "Hey there, Cassie."

"Oh," Cassie blinked a few times. She wasn't expecting to see him for awhile. It had been understood that he would return to his civilian life for a month or two before fighting crime again. It didn't mean he couldn't visit the warehouse, but…well, the last time they'd seen each other…"Jaime, it's been a few weeks."

"Too long in my book," he grinned, walking over to the couch and taking a seat next to her, "I got a text from Barbara. She told me you got injured a few days ago and your mom isn't in DC, so you're stuck here."

"Yeah," Cassie sighed, straightening up to meet his eye-level. A dull pain throbbed into her injured leg, but she ignored it, meeting Jaime with a smile, "It stinks. _A lot_. We don't even have a gaming system here. And I really need to get out of this place before I rearrange the book shelf one more time."

Jaime chuckled softly, causing Cassie's heart to squirm from beneath her skin, "I figured. Which was why I decided to come over and…ask you on a date."

"…Huh?" was Cassie's ever-so-intelligent response.

Her friend cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck before continuing, "I don't think I've made it a secret since the Invasion that I like you. And I thought…after what happened in my hospital room that you felt the same way. And if anything, I just want to have you some fun, _real_ fun. You went through so much while I was on-mode and you deserve a break."

"I went through so much?" Cassie's eyes widened, "Jaime, you went through a world more of hurt than I did. If anyone needs some fun and relaxation, it's you!"

Jaime's eyes lit up at her response, "Then maybe this could be an excuse for both of us. What do you say?"

She mulled it for a few moments, the memory of his hospital room and that one_ burning_ kiss looping over and over. Here she was bored out of her mind, waiting for some fun and in came the boy she just couldn't get out of her head, asking her out on their very first date.

Honestly, besides the whole "you were just possessed not too long ago" ordeal, there was no real reason to say no.

"Let me put on some decent clothes," Cassie said, using her good leg to hop off the couch, "I'll be out in ten."

Jaime's smile widened and her heart had no choice but to skip a beat, "Great! I'll just be here, watching - "

He turned to the TV and his brows rose in confusion, "The Jewelry Network?"

"Hey, those are some amazing prices," she defended, "But okay, I'm getting dressed. Have fun."

"Oh, I will," Jaime waved as she left and Cassie waited until she was in the bathroom to squeal in delight.

Maybe she should improvise on missions more often.


End file.
